Tag: Deep Purple

Whitesnake have released their new single "Stormbringer", from their upcoming new studio album, "The Purple Album."

"The Purple Album" is a re-imagination of classic songs from David Coverdale’s time as the lead singer for Deep Purple’s Mark 3 and Mark 4 studio albums. It will be released on May 15th in Europe and May 19th in North America via Frontiers Music SRL. The album will be available in CD, Deluxe CD/DVD (featuring two bonus tracks), Vinyl and Digital formats. Pre-orders for the Deluxe CD/DVD: http://geni.us/WSPurpleDLXamz are available on Amazon.com. Pre-orders for Regular edition and LP are forthcoming.

“It’s a tribute. A homage. It’s a huge thank you from me to Deep Purple for the opportunity I was given over 40 years ago,” states Coverdale. “As I said to Ritchie, you guys set me on an incredible journey that continues today and I couldn’t have asked for better teachers. The University of Deep Purple was an extraordinary, amazing school to learn from. We can’t wait to play these songs in concert!”

From the opening notes of the classic track “Burn,” to album closer “Stormbringer,” Whitesnake are back and better than ever. Songs like “Lady Double Dealer,” “Soldier of Fortune” and “Sail Away” are given a new energy in the very capable hands of the current Whitesnake lineup featuring David Coverdale on vocals, Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra on guitars, Michael Devin on bass and Tommy Aldridge on drums.

earMUSIC and Sunflower Jam are proud to present "Celebrating Jon Lord" recorded back in 2006 at the Royal Albert Hall in memory of the great man and musician. The DVD, Blu-Ray and CD will be released on September 26 and features Deep Purple, Bruce Dickinson, Glenn Hughes, Paul Weller, Rick Wakeman and many others.

It was in 2006 when, once a year, a group of stellar musicians and stars of rock started meeting up in London for a night of live music. The main intent was to raise money for a charity called The Sunflower Jam.
At first the rumours about these sessions with Deep Purple, Robert Plant, Brian May and Alice Cooper were too good to be true, to the point that a few thought that they were nothing else than an urban legend.
"The Jam" as it soon started to be called quickly became a cult night. A real must first of all for the artists themselves, finally free and happy to leave their commercial thoughts outside the venue and able to enjoy playing music together with colleagues, friends and maybe even secret rivals and for the audience, who often could simply not believe their eyes.

The Sunflower Jam started as an idea from Jacky Paice, who very often could count on the drumming of her husband Ian. Who would turn down playing with him?

The first editions were mainly open to guests and music business professionals that would contribute to the charity. Later "The Jam" became too good not to be available for the public.

It is in one of the earlier SFJs that Jon Lord played for the last time with his friends with Deep Purple, duetting in a peaceful "war of hammonds" with Don Airey, who had replaced Lord in Deep Purple when he decided it was enough with a life spent on the road, and after a lifetime dedicated to rock and roll, Lord left to concentrate to his first love: classical music and the combination of rock elements in it.

2014: "The Sunflower Jam" is a now a regular sold out event. The fourth one at the Royal Albert Hall.
A night of great music but also an explosion of joy and will to live.

Jon Lord sadly passed away in 2012. Just a few weeks before the release of the just finished remake of what is universally known as the first ever meeting of classical music and rock. The "Concerto For Group and Orchestra". The same composition that Purple played live in 1969 at the Royal Albert Hall.

Considering the amount of respect, friendship and love expressed on any occasion by anybody who had worked, played or simply met Jon Lord, it is not a surprise that the 2014 Jam would be dedicated totally to his music. The night turned out to be an historical moment in rock music: A full orchestra, a director - Paul Mann - crazy enough to give wonderful arrangements to a repertoire going back and forth through fifty years of music, many old friends for an unforgettable night.
The Albert Hall sold out to the last seat...

Jon’s big musical loves were in the room, once again: same venue, many years later, many of the same people involved, a million times more the amount of emotions.
For four hours Jon’s music was shining. Commotion, jokes, laughs and a lot of music came together by magic.
The result is the show you can now hear and watch.

All the wonderful musicians who played at the "Celebrating Jon Lord" Sunflower Jam have left a precious mark but how not to mention the 55 minutes finale by Deep Purple, the Purple Mk III songs played by Paice with the old friend Glenn Hughes, together with Iron Maiden´s Bruce Dickinson, Rick Wakeman’s of Yes fame, Steve Balsamo (who sang in the late Jon Lord band and in his last studio album "Concerto"), members of The Temperance Movement, ex-members of Whitesnake, Bernie Marsden and Moody, the "modfather" Paul Weller...

Everybody attending the show left the venue with an expression that clearly said "one day I will be able to say I was there"...
Now everybody will be able to see why.

After having been eligible for the last 15 years, KISS will finally be joining the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. KISS will join other new inductees Nirvana, Peter Gabriel, Linda Ronstadt, Hall & Oates and Cat Stevens.

Bruce Springsteen was inducted into the Rock Hall back in 1999, and now the E Street Band will be joining him there as well. The E Street band will be presented the Award for Musical Excellence, presented to sidemen.

Receiving the Ahmet Ertegun Award, which goes to non-performers, will be the late Beatles manager Brian Epstein and former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham.

The 29th Inductiuon Ceremonies will be held on April 10 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and will be open to the public. The show will be taped for broadcast on HBO in May.

"We know that engaging the fans is a huge opportunity," said Joel Peresman, president/CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. "It gives them a chance to be a part of the ceremony, but it also adds a palpable energy to the event. Once we decided to open the ceremony to the public in New York, that had a huge impact on the decision to have it at Barclays Center."

The Rock Hall implemented fan voting for a single vote ballot spot for the second year in a row, with voting taking place on the Rock Hall website, as well as on rollingstone.com and usatoday.com. Nearly 1.4 million votes were totaled up this year, with KISS leading the way with 239,000 votes. Nirvana was next with 218,000, followed by Yes with 151,000 and Deep Purple with 166,000. Both Yes and Deep Purple were passed over for induction in 2014. The voting was rounded out by Hall & Oates with 113,000, Peter Gabriel with 111,000, Linda Ronstadt with 85,000 and Cat Stevens with 75,000.

Tickets will go on sale to the public next month, with an exact date yet to be announced. A pre-sale for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members will take place in advance of the public on-sale date. To be eligible for the member pre-sale, you must be an active Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum member by December 31, 2013 at 11:59 PM EST. Get all the details at www.rockhall.com

The Sunflower Jam is a high profile live Rock music event which donates and supports charities that provide complementary care to cancer sufferers. The U.K. organization, which was founded in 2006 by drummer Ian Paice's wife, Jacky, supports holistic and alternative healing programs for young people stricken with cancer.
The Sunflower SUPERJAM 2012 was a once-in-a-lifetime event that you can now experience with the release of the DVD. On stage together for the only time, you can watch Alice Cooper, Brian May, Bruce Dickinson, John Paul Jones, Ian Paice, Mark King, Alfie Boe and a host of other exceptional musicians jam at the Royal Albert Hall, making the iconic venue rock like never before.

Performances on the discs include the world premiere of a Lord-Wakeman collaboration titled "It's Not as Big as It Was," Cooper singing his memorable hit "School's Out," Dickenson's rendition of The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes," an ensemble version of Deep Purple's classic "Smoke on the Water" and May, Jones, Paice and other musicians collaborating on versions of Rainbow's "Since You've Been Gone" and "Black Night."

Plus, enjoy the Sunflower SUPERJAM 2011 on the bonus disc with performances from Deep Purple, Rick Wakeman, Joe Bonamassa, Newton Faulkner and including the last live performance from the legendary Jon Lord. Pre-order the DVD now at www.thesunflowerjam.tmstor.es

After firing vocalist Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots this past February, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo and drummer Eric Kretz announced their new singer Chester Bennington of Linkin Park at KROQ's annual Weenie Roast in Los Angeles last month. He is turning out to be a perfect fit, as the newest track from this incarnation of STP is flying up the charts.

On May 18, the band played a 40-minute set performing well known Stone Temple Pilot tracks and premiered a new song, "Out Of Time," the group's first track since 2010.

"Chester has a one-of-a-kind voice that we've admired for a long time," said guitarist Dean DeLeo in a press release. "We know Linkin Park will always be his priority, but we thought it would be cool to try something together. We managed to find the time to record a song and we're all really happy with the result."

"I’ve loved STP since I was 13 years old and they’ve had a huge influence on me," explained Bennington. "When the opportunity came up to do something creative with them, I jumped at the chance. The guys in Linkin Park have been incredibly supportive of me undertaking this project while I’ve continued to work on new music with LP."

Former STP vocalist Weiland has since repeated his initial claim that he hasn’t been fired, saying in a statement: “Like everybody else out there, I read about my band and their recent performance this past weekend with a new singer. To tell you the truth, it took me by surprise. And it hurt.

“But the band that played last weekend was not Stone Temple Pilots and it was wrong of them to present themselves as that. First of all they don’t have the legal right to call themselves STP because I’m still a member of the band.

“And more importantly, they don’t have the ethical right to call themselves Stone Temple Pilots, because it’s misleading and dishonest to the millions of fans that have followed us for so many years.”

“Like any band that’s stood the test of time and made music for more than two decades, STP had a special alchemy – the four of us together were greater than any one of us apart.”

He finished: “I don’t give a fuck what they call themselves, but it’s not Stone Temple Pilots. I’ll see you out there on the road this summer where I’m touring as ‘Scott Weiland’ with my band The Wildabouts. But don’t give up on STP. I know I haven’t.”

I don't think the new STP is listening, as the band subsequently performed at Club Nokia in Los Angeles on May 30th for the MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit Concert, which honored Bennington and legendary skateboarder, surfer and musician Tony Alva. The annual event raised funds For MusiCares' Addiction Recovery Services. Slash, Duff McKagan, presenters Anthony Kiedis, Mike Shinoda and Andy Dick were also a part of the show.

As far as more new music from STP, Bennington told Rolling Stone that this is not just a musical fling: "When you get together and put a new piece in, there's a whole different energy. For us the creative juices have just been flowing – we've been writing, we have tons of great ideas. Next week we're going back in the studio and hammering out some more music."

"We don't have a label," he said. "Everything we're doing is on our own, so we're just taking it one track at a time. We would love to sit down and hammer out a record, but the reality is we're gonna make music, we're gonna make a lot of it, and we're gonna be in a position to release a single at a time, go out and really give people music the way they want to get it," he said. "It is a good position to be in, and for us, all we care about is going out, making the legacy as great as it needs to be, as great as people expect it to be, and coming out with new music that lives up to that standard."

Unless Weiland lawyers up like no one in history has before to put a stop to this, the new version of the band will be making their own mark as well.

It is always fantastic to hear great musicians in any setting or playing any genre. It is amazing when three of the finest in their fields can come together to create some musical magic, and that is just what The Winery Dogs have done. The amazing new power trio featuring rock veterans Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Avenged Sevenfold), Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big) and Richie Kotzen (Mr. Big, Poison), having recorded a new album of stellar material, have now signed with Loud & Proud Records. The Winery Dogs’ self-titled debut album will be released in North America on July 23rd. The Winery Dogs was self-produced and mixed by Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Stone Sour, Steel Panther).

The band have already released three videos from the new album, 'Elevate', 'Desire,' and ' I'm No Angel' which can all be seen below. I don't know what track I like more, hey are all so good.

In a press release on The Winery Dogs’ signing, Mike Portnoy commented, “I am so excited about The Winery Dogs and am proud and honored to be working with two of the greatest musicians on the planet! Richie Kotzen is such an unbelievable talent, as a vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. I think The Winery Dogs will finally get him the attention and recognition that he so richly deserves. And what can be said of Billy Sheehan that hasn’t been said already? He is one the true pioneers of the instrument and a legend. I am looking forward to working with the great staff of Loud & Proud Records, some of whom I worked very closely with during their time at Roadrunner and my time with Dream Theater. I look forward to continuing that relationship with The Winery Dogs!”

Loud & Proud Owner & President Tom Lipsky added, “The debut by The Winery Dogs absolutely rocks and we are very excited that Loud & Proud is their label partner. This body of work showcases not only their renowned skills as musicians and vocalists, but also the depth of their talent as songwriters. Billy, Mike and Richie delivered some of the best performances of their illustrious careers and I am confident this album will be recognized as one of the truly great rock albums of the year.”

Touted as one of the best guitar players in the world, Richie Kotzen also possesses a voice on par with some of the greatest rock/soul singers and is highly regarded as a gifted songwriter. With guitar styles ranging from rock, blues, jazz and fusion to pop and soul, Kotzen has built a remarkably diverse 20-year career as a guitarist, singer and songwriter. A prolific songwriter, Richie has written several songs that have gone on to become hit singles around the world and he continues to appear in countless books, magazines and websites, being acknowledged as one of the top guitarists in the world.

Mike Portnoy is one of the founding members of Dream Theater, with whom he played drums for 25 years, selling more than 10 million copies worldwide. Portnoy’s long list of awards include 26 Modern Drummer magazine Reader’s Poll Awards, including Hall of Fame Inductee in 2004, MVP of the Year in 2010, Best Progressive Rock Drummer (for the magazine’s record of 12 years in a row), Best Clinician (twice), Best Educational Video/DVD and Best Recorded Performance of the Year (seven times) while in Dream Theater and Avenged Sevenfold. He also holds the distinction being the second youngest drummer ever inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame (at age 37) and is currently the youngest in the magazine’s Hall of Fame. DRUM! Magazine named him Drummer Of The Year for the last two years in a row (2011 & 2012), and he won the Revolver Golden Gods Award for Drummer Of The Year in 2011.

As a founding member of Mr. Big, Billy Sheehan forged his place in hard rock history. Mr. Big’s trademark virtuosic musicianship with stellar vocal harmonies and earned them numerous hit songs, including the ubiquitous “To Be With You,” which was a Billboard Hot 100 #1 single in 15 countries, propelling the band to major international success and record sales in the multi-millions. Sheehan was voted the Best Rock Bass Player 5 times in Guitar Player magazine’s Readers Poll, earning him a spot in their Gallery of Greats along with Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Geddy Lee, Eddie Van Halen and more, and he has won several Reader’s polls around the world. He won the prestigious Player magazine (Japan’s #1 Music mag) Reader’s Poll for Best Bass Player an unprecedented 14 consecutive times and Burrn! magazine’s (Japan’s #1 heavy metal mag) Readers’ Poll five times. His hands and signature are preserved in cement on the Rockwalk at Guitar Center in Hollywood, CA.

1. Elevate
2. Desire
3. We Are One
4. I’m No Angel
5. The Other Side
6. You Saved Me
7. Not Hopeless
8. One More Time
9. Damaged
10. Six Feet Deeper
11. Criminal
12. The Dying
13. Regret

Deep Purple are up next with their latest single called 'Vincent Price'. It comes from the new album 'Now What?!', the 19th studio album from the band and first new studio album in 8 years.

Guitarist Steve Morse said about the track, “The song is compact and funky. I like the way it opens up with Don (Airey) doing this great horror movie keyboard part. Actually, he used to play for silent movies, so he knows that stuff backwards and forwards.

“The riff sparked the lyrical content of the song and the title. Ian (Gillen) always likes to spice things up and get light when he can, so he went in that direction. He’s the guy who doesn’t try to be 'heavy metal.' The riff is straight-ahead heavy, so that's covered."

The video features a young couple making their way into a spooky mansion, with a Vincent Price look a like as their tormentor. It even features some damn nice pole dancing that the Vincent character is really enjoying, at least until he is exposed to sunlight. It all wraps up in a wax museum kind of way, with the band as participants. An entertaining and well made video to go along with a solid track from Deep Purple.

The band are currently touring Europe, and will be into the middle of August. No U.S. dates have been announced for 2013 as of yet. Let's hope will see some dates later this year, but it looks like the window is small as they will have one European date in October, then will tour Russia in November.

Las Vegas hard rockers Five Finger Death Punch are back in a big way with their kick ass track 'Lift Me Up', featuring guest vocals from Rob Halford of Judas Priest. The track continues to expose the band to more and more people, as FFDP are poised to take their massive success to an even higher level.

The band's new album 'The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell, Volume 1' is due out July 30th. The deluxe edition features 14 new tracks, with a bonus 15 track live CD, 'Purgatory [Tales From The Pit]'. The album is the first release of two new studio albums. The imagery for both upcoming studio albums was created by legendary comic book artist and illustrator Greg Capullo (Batman, Spawn).

Having already played a few major festivals in Europe this month, the band have their touring schedule locked in for the rest of the year. The Rockstar Mayhem Festival tour along with Rob Zombie, Mastodon, Machine Head, Amon Amarth and more kicks off June 29th in San Bernadino, CA. They follow that with a tour of Canada in September with Escape The Fate and more, then will tour Europe with Avenged Sevenfold during November and December. It's going to be another big year for FFDP, that will carry into 2014!

Great White recently posted a video for their latest track 'Shotgun Willie's' that was filmed on the recent Monsters of Rock Cruise. It shows the band in a relaxed rocking atmosphere, connecting with their fans.

The track is the fourth single from the band's album 'Elation', and while I will always feel connected to the Jack Russell Great White era, Terry Ilous (XYZ) has added his own vocal talents on an album that can stand and rock on its own merits. This is probably my favorite track from the current incarnation of Great White, and it showcases the great musicianship of the band, including Michael Lardie (guitar, keyboards), Audie Desbrow (drums), bassist Scott Snyder and long time guitarist Mark Kendall.

Great White will be touring for all of 2013, sharing the stage with the likes of Enuff Z'nuff, Night Ranger, Slaughter, REO Speedwagon, Queensryche, Stephen Pearcy, Bret Michaels and Stryper. Look for a date near you and check 'em out: greatwhiterocks.com